For some context: there was a Government politician (Peta Murphy) who had broad support for a ban/restrictions on gambling ads, who passed away while in office in December 2023.
Since then all that talk went away and there’s been 2 years of this social media ban.
Surely a coincidence.
[edit: not a senator, a member of the House of Reps]
I want an adult "media" ban that prevents me from bieng exposed to the mindless manipulating, scheaming, grasping greed and inanities of a broken political and regulatory system.
They all act like dog's, that think that because they cant see you, therefor they are invisible, which in a dog, is cute and funny.
“it’s a form of regulatory capture hidden behind a silly moral panic” is a very nice summary of gambling operators pushing an under-16 ban to protect their gambling ads by shifting responsibility onto the kids not circumventing the silly ban.
This comment is a neat encapsulation of the hypocrisy in the “think of the children” mentality. We’ve gotta protect the kids, let’s push them around like obstacles and exclude them from society!
Meanwhile, social media is melting the brains of everyone over 45 into relitigating moon landing conspiracies. Maybe a bit less time in YouTube holes and a bit more time actually parenting would be good for both parties.
I blogged about this connection a year ago, glad to see at least one article published way too late. The Murdoch papers had their own 'let them be kids' campaign with identical talking points, and Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation also contributed.
What's weird to me is that this advertising company simply lobbied directly for what they wanted both to politicians and the public. Normally as the article mentions you'd have a cover group that's the face of movement to obscure the true intentions. God Aussie journalists are crap.
hello! funnily enough I'm the journalist from Crikey who wrote the story this is based on. Cool to see Mike cover it, I' ma big fan of his work. Happy to answer any questions about it or the teen social media ban.
Por que no los dos? Bad social media for kids _and_ ban gambling ads? Especially considering the ads are for gambling outfits legally prohibited from operating in Australia.
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 36.6 ms ] thread> Australia's Social Media Ban Was Pushed By Ad Agency Focused On Gambling Ads It Didn’t Want Banned
Since then all that talk went away and there’s been 2 years of this social media ban.
Surely a coincidence.
[edit: not a senator, a member of the House of Reps]
Same with drinking, etc.
Ideally there were would be well moderated sites for children, but that’s not practical.
Saying “let’s move kids out of this area so we can do grown up stuff” is totally fine. It protects children while not infringing on adults freedoms.
Meanwhile, social media is melting the brains of everyone over 45 into relitigating moon landing conspiracies. Maybe a bit less time in YouTube holes and a bit more time actually parenting would be good for both parties.
What's weird to me is that this advertising company simply lobbied directly for what they wanted both to politicians and the public. Normally as the article mentions you'd have a cover group that's the face of movement to obscure the true intentions. God Aussie journalists are crap.
Bad actors can push for good things and they still be good.